Heart by Heart: A Dragon Ball Z One-Shot
by Confortare
Summary: When Kid Buu had been defeated, the whole world went back to whatever it was they were doing before the whole thing. But among all those people there were three of them that had all too much trouble continuing their lives and were still dealing with the consequences of the terrors of Babidi. A Post-Buu One-Shot about the complications in the Briefs Family after Buu and Babidi.


A Post-Buu One-Shot about the complications that accocured after Kid Buu had been defeated, in the Briefs Family.

**AN:** I Don't own DBZ or any of the characters.

* * *

**Love **[luhv]  
Noun

_A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person._

* * *

Why hadn't he talked to her yet? It had been exactly a week now and he still hadn't uttered a single word about what happened to him and the rest of his family. They died. And then he died. But not after being possessed by an evil force.  
_  
_She knew he wouldn't give in very easily, but she also hadn't expected him to fully retreat and train all the time. He only stopped training to sleep and eat.

And Bulma was getting pretty damn tired of it.

She had to start talking to him about it, because it was driving her and her son absolutely _insane_.  
_  
What does he want? Does he care about us at all? _Why_ did he give in to Babidi? Why!  
_  
She cared about him, that's what she knew for sure. Losing him was probably the worst thing she had ever felt. She felt like everything she spend her whole life build with Vegeta, had slipped right through her fingers like sand. She felt like she would never be fully happy again, knowing that she would never have her husband again.

And then there was Trunks. He was scared of his father. She knew it the moment he begged her to have a sleep over at Goten's, when his father arrived for the first time after the whole thing. Trunks couldn't even bear to look him in the face.  
_  
Did Vegeta care for Trunks?  
_  
Sure, he always found that actions spoke more than words... but couldn't he be more clear with his actions? Lately, there had been nothing whatsoever that showed even the slightest sign of affection. So was there any to begin with? Or was he just staying because he was at a point of no return?

"Mom."

Bulma turned immediately to the door of her and her husband's room. She found her son leaning against the door frame with a puzzled look on his face. "What is it, honey?" She stood up from her bed and went to kneel in front of her son, making it able for her to have direct eye contact.

"I'm scared."

Bulma sighed as she took her son's head in her arms. "The monsters again?" Ever since the Majin thing, Trunks suddenly started having sleeping problems. Yet he insisted that it had nothing to do with Babidi at all.

Trunks simply nodded. Bulma took his hand and lead him to his room. "I know I'm not as good as Daddy at scaring them away, but I won't leave until they're gone. Okay?"

"Okay, promise?"

"Promise."

Trunks wrapped himself in his Batman blankets and went to lay on his side, facing his mother. "Where's Dad?" The boy whispered.

"He's training."

"Hn."

"Honey," Bulma softly began, determined to tackle this problem to get it out of their lives as soon as possible. "Your father loves you, Trunks."

"Yeah right," he snorted.

"Of course he does! That's why he knocked you and Goten out, Trunks. He wanted the two of you to be safe. You could have died out there!"

"He's a liair," Trunks said as he turned around, now facing his window. The boy thought back to the words his father had said... _I'm proud of you, Trunks._ They were lies. Lies to distract him and knock him out. Lies to get rid of him.  
_  
Kami, maybe he even wanted to kill me!_

"Your father is many things." Bulma placed her hand on the side of Trunk's face. "But he is no liar. And you know that."

"He doesn't care, Mom!" Trunks pushed her hand away. "Why didn't he let me help him!? Why!? Goten and I could have helped him! We could have saved him!"

Bulma sighed, knowing it would be hard to convince her stubborn son. "No, Trunks. You and Goten would have died. I can't handle that, Trunks. I barely handled Vegeta dying. But you. No. I would've gone mad," Bulma's voice slowly died as the tears started to well in her eyes. "No parent deserves to see their child die, Trunks."  
_  
No, I have to be strong for Trunks. I have to. No tears._

"Mom," Trunks sighed.

"No 'momming' me, Trunks. You can't do that to me, do you hear me! You can't put yourself in any danger!"

"Okay," Trunks now turned around and faced his mother again. "I'm sorry, Mom. I really am."

"It's okay, sweetie." Bulma leaned in to kiss her son's forehead. "Your father and I love you, you do know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know, I know," he mumbled back. After a few moments of comfortable silence, a soft snore sounded from Trunks. Seeing this as her cue to leave, Bulma got up from her knees, closed the door and headed back to the master bedroom.

_One down, one to go_.

Now talking to Vegeta, _that_ would prove to be an even bigger challenge. Trunks only gave in to get rid of his mother, Bulma knew and she had peace with it. After all, they had to do this step by step, even though the wound would take a while to fully heal.

She waited and waited, not giving in to her sleep and tiredness. She stayed up on pure willpower.

It was four AM when she heard the gravity room powering down. Wide awake, Bulma quickly dove under the blankets, faking sleep. She heard how the Saiyan quietly opened the door. He crept over to the bed and took a glance at Bulma before removing a few lost strands from her face and kissing her blue, silky hair. He then headed for the bathroom to take one of his long, hot showers. It wasn't until she heard the water run that Bulma sat up again.

_What now?_ She asked herself. _Just confront him? But don't anger him, certainly _don't _anger him_.

And even _if_ she succeeded in talking to him, the Prince still needed to talk to his son. Trunks might have _thought_ he fooled his mother by blindly agreeing with her, but unfortunately for him, mothers had this weird sixth sense that told them when their child was lying. And Trunks was lying.

Bulma's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Vegeta's mumbling. He had already finished showering and was about to head back to the room.

_Don't lose your cool, Bulma. You can do this. You can do this._

Vegeta was caught completely off guard when he opened the door and found his woman wide awake, sitting on the bed, watching his every move. He had ignored her and his son for the past week, only sleeping when he was sure she was fast asleep, only eating when there left overs. It had gone great so far, even though he had felt more lonely than ever. Deep inside the Prince knew that _if_ he came to face her, he would give in. And that scared him; her control over him. Even though he had given his life for her and the boy, his feelings for her still scared the hell out of him.

"What is it, Bulma?" He finally asked.

Bulma sighed deeply before speaking. "You are, Vegeta." Her gaze glanced over his bare chest, his black shorts and steady, muscled legs. "You are," she mumbled.

Now Vegeta sighed as he went to lay on the bed.

Bulma turned to face her husband, still sitting cross-legged though. "You have to talk to me, Vegeta."

"There's nothing to talk about," Vegeta stated.

"Damn it, Vegeta!" Bulma snapped. Her sudden anger slightly startled the Prince. "Stop that! Stop letting those walls up! I'm your damn _wife_ for Kamisake!" She slammed her fragile fists on his chest, knowing it didn't cause him any pain but doing it anyways. "You died," she whispered softly. "You turned into this monster and killed people and then you _died_."

"I sacrificed myself, woman," Vegeta mumbled back, "do never forget why."

"Then tell me why? What was the _last_ thing that crossed your mind, Vegeta? Didn't you think at all about-"

"Don't you _dare_," Vegeta interrupted. "Don't you dare say that I don't care!" Vegeta pushed himself up, now he was sitting next to Bulma, eye to eye. "You and Trunks."

"Me and Trunks?" Bulma repeated, a puzzled looked on her face.

"The last things that crossed my mind."

Bulma was left speechless. She loved this man. She loved this man so much that it hurt. She loved his stubbornness, his pride, his mystique, his strength, his body, his lovemaking, his voice, his softness, his awkwardness, his honesty, his straightforwardness, his ignorance, she loved all of it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She said, "about what you felt, about everything!"

"You know how I feel about words, I-"

"WHY!" She said as she quickly wiped a lost tear away with the back of her hand. "I thought you didn't care anymore! Trunks thinks you don't love him! Trunks thinks that you lied to him! I thought you changed your mind."

"Bulma don't cry, you don't know what you do to me when your cry. So don't."

"So it's all true? What I just said?"

"Of course not! I didn't confirm that!"

"You didn't deny it either."

Vegeta impatiently pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen," he said. "There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you and the boy, Bulma."

"Do you still love us, Vegeta?" Bulma now let the tears flow freely. She didn't care. He deserved to see the pain she had to go through the last few days, the heartbreak, the dread and fear of this very moment..

Vegeta took her hands in his and kissed them both softly. "Yes, Bulma." He kissed her neck, jawline, he kissed the salty tears of her face, and then he kissed her lips.

_Those sweet, strawberry lips that I've missed for too long. That lavender smell that I had lived without for too long._

"Vegeta?" Bulma breathed against his lips.

"Hm?" He mumbled back as he held her head between his hands and kissed her neck again.

"Don't leave me like that again. Please." The thought alone of him dying, made her heart cringe in pain. She couldn't, she _wouldn't_ lose him. Not again.

Vegeta silently smiled against her skin. "I cannot make any promises. But I shall try."

"You're such a jerk sometimes, you know," Bulma said. She tried her very best to not sound tired, knowing that she longed for Vegeta's touch. But she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. The tension that had been building had vanished by his confession and his comforting words. Everything was good between them again, and that was all she cared about right now.

"Ah yes, you've mentioned that a few times along the years." Vegeta gently pushed his wife back onto the bed as he noticed her lack of participation in the whole thing. "You're tired, aren't you?"

"No, of course, not," Bulma lied. She was having a hard time keep her eyes open, but she would never pass an opportunity to have sex with her dear Saiyan Prince.

"Don't lie to me woman," Vegeta whispered in her ear. He kissed her passionately on the lips before finally pulling away, making Bulma ache for more.

"But Vegeta," she whined, "this is supposed to be our make-up sex..."

"Ugh, you vulgar woman," Vegeta mumbled under his breath as he joined her under the blankets. "You'll never change will you?" He smirked.

"That's why you love me," she simply said. Bulma rested her head on Vegeta's chest, enjoying the peace between the two of them. It didn't take long for the beauty to fall asleep. When she did, Vegeta tightened his grip around her petite waist and started counting her deep and even breaths until he too, fell asleep.

* * *

He wanted to wake up with her in the morning, reassuring her that he would be next to her at all times, but he couldn't stop himself from getting up when he felt his son's ki flair up, telling Vegeta that he was awake. The Prince then mentally reached out for his son, but found that he was blocked.  
Vegeta slowly got out of bed, making sure not to wake his woman and then hurried to his son. He hadn't forgotten Bulma's words: _Trunks thinks you don't love him! Trunks thinks that you lied to him!  
_  
_How could she even _think_ that? Didn't I give them enough reasons to know that I won't be going anywhere for now? That I'm... quite fond of the two idiots._

Vegeta quickly shook the building tension off of his shoulders as she reached Trunks' bedroom. It was now or never. He pushed the door open and found Trunks sitting on his bed, playing on his portable play device. The boy looked up and visibly paled at the sight of his father. The two of them had only see each other the last week as they passed in the hallway, never as confronting as this.

"Dad?"

"Trunks." Vegeta closed the door behind him. "I need to talk to you, son."

Trunks turned his device off and placed it next to him. His father now had his whole attention.

Vegeta went to kneel next to his bed – like Bulma had done a few hours ago – and cleared his throat. "I didn't lie when I told you I was proud of you, Trunks. I am. After everything you've accomplished, I never once told you that."

"You didn't just tell me that because you wanted to distract me?" Trunks asked his father.

"No. I had to bring you in safety. You're a Saiyan, I knew you'd want to fight! But I couldn't take the risk."

"Why not! I could have helped!"

"Because you had to take care of your mother, Trunks! Do you know why I train you like this!?" Trunks remained silent. "Because maybe one day, I'll be dead and _you_ will have to protect your mother. I trust you with that, because I know you can do it."

"So you don't hate us?" Trunks asked him.

"Is that what you thought?" Vegeta was baffled. Why would his son think that? But then again, he was just a little kid. Trunks nodded. "Of course not, son."

Trunks' face lit up with a smile.

"I really am proud of you Trunks," Trunks' smile grew even wider.

"Thanks, Dad," The smile now made place for a slight blush.

"Hn." Vegeta ascended to his feet. "And son, give your mother a break. She's still a little bit on edge."

"Sure Dad," The boy answered. "Y'know, I won't let you down! I promise!"

That fire in his eyes. It reminds me so much of his mother.

"Good." Vegeta slightly nodded at Trunks and smiled. He finally felt at peace now, knowing that the people he cared most about in the world had forgiven him. It was still weird for him to _care_ about people. Vegeta couldn't really pinpoint the exact moment he started caring, but it had happened, perhaps slowly and gradually.

The Prince crept back into his bed, taking back the position he had woken up in.

"Did it work?" Bulma's voice sounded.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, it was the birds."

"Oh," Vegeta said, "yes it worked."

Bulma turned her body to face him. "I'm glad your spacepod crashed on earth," she suddenly said, earning a puzzled look from the Prince. "It got me you." She placed her head on his chest – the way she had fallen asleep.

"I'm glad you used to be an annoying wench that caught my attention." He threw back. He caressed her hair as he thought back at the first time they had been like this. It wasn't much after the Namekians had left. Perhaps a few months; that was all it took for them to fall for each other.

Bulma giggled softly as she recalled her younger self. "I'm glad it worked."

"I am too," The Prince silently said as he continued stroking his woman's hair.

That same woman that had been so afraid of him on Namek, had invited him in her home, cooked for him, bought clothes for him, helped him, supported him in any way she could. And what had he given? Nothing but pain. He sometimes deeply wondered why he had deserved her and the boy. How had someone as evil as him been able to reproduce something as pure as Trunks? He still didn't know the answer to of any of the questions. Perhaps he didn't deserve them, perhaps he needed them – as the woman often said.

* * *

_Love is always patient and kind; _  
_It is never jealous; _  
_Love is never boastful or conceited; _  
_It is never rude or selfish; _  
_It does not take offence, and is not resentful. _  
_Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth; _  
_It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. _  
_Love doesn not come to an end._

* * *

Just a quick One-Shot about our favorite couple of all time. This idea was slowly filling my head and I just _had_ to write it down in order to continue with my other story [Endgame].  
I hope you guys liked it! xo


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